Paul Maynard, Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, has been appointed pensions minister at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
His appointment as the fourth MP in just over a year to hold this position in government was announced following a cabinet reshuffle this week by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement. The former pensions minister, Laura Trott, has been promoted to the role of chief secretary to the treasury.
Elected in May 2010, Maynard previously held the role of parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice from May 2019 to July 2019. Prior to this, he was government whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury, and a parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Transport from July 2016 to January 2018.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, said: “He will have a very busy agenda to try to progress, potentially in a very short time, as a general election could be less than a year away. The new pensions minister will need to hit the ground running, given his lack of financial services experience, this may be challenging.
“Top of the agenda will be the need to work closely with the Chancellor on a number of policy initiatives designed to improve member outcomes, implement the auto-enrolment reforms, drive scheme consolidation and encourage pension schemes to invest in private equity to encourage economic growth. The previous pensions minister, Laura Trott, with her new role at the Treasury may prove to be invaluable here. Time will tell whether Maynard will have the time to get up to speed with all things pension and deliver any of the initiatives in flow given that the general election will be a major distraction.”